#anyways he took me wale watching when i was five once and i haven’t been the same ever since

[merriclo]

me: hehe i love the ocean and want to research marine life for a living!!! marine biology is my passion. i love the sea she is my darling. this is totally different from the rest of my family, especially my father!!

meanwhile, my father: was a sailor and a surfer. talks about wanting a fish tank all the time. rereads the wikipedia article for nurse sharks often. has literally driven a submarine.

[bellshells]

Splitting Hairs

Yo, have this absolute vomit I wrote. It’s a Severus x OC I wrote because I hate myself. I actually have quite a few parts written if anyone is interested in reading them. So it’s set the year or so before Haz and pals attend Hogwarts, new DADA teacher comes and Sev is salty about it, until he meets her. Hope you enjoy <3

Word count: 2795 Severus Snape x OC

Next Chapter: here

Another year, another rejection. Severus sat silently in the staff room surrounded by his gossiping colleagues and tentatively sipped his tea. Sunlight streamed in through the windows and it stung his eyes, he had barely slept. He had analysed Dumbledore’s words over and over again as he sat upright in his bed, the fire feebly spitting out flames as dawn threatened to break. “Not this time Severus,” the bespectacled wizard had said patting Severus’ arm, “you will be missed too greatly in the dungeons for me to spare you to Defence Against the Dark Arts.” Severus only nodded before leaving Dumbledore’s office; his cloak billowed sarcastically behind him as Dumbledore frowned.

Severus had pondered that night, what he would have to do in order to prove he was capable to do the job. Would he have to tattoo the words ‘I am not a bad man’ on his forehead? Maybe take a blade to his Dark Mark and cut it out of his arm? The damn thing would only grow back anyway. Severus sat and silently cursed himself. Dumbledore had done the valiant thing in not disclosing who had in fact applied for the now filled position, but everybody knew. He could see them, whispering about the new professor who would arrive imminently with glances over in his direction. Let them look, he thought. He would much rather them look than talk to them.

It seemed his summer had been over in an instant, he had returned to Spinner’s End with the hopes of doing some much-needed renovations to his family home but preparing for his would-be change of department had consumed him. All day and most of the night he would sit in his high-backed chair and pour over book after book. It was highly unnecessary though; Severus had read those books cover to cover so many times he could recite them from memory. But still, it wasn’t enough. Somebody else had been successful and once again, Severus would have to concede. Minerva entered the room in a flurry of green robes, she was followed by Pomona who trailed in a little soil from her sturdy boots. Minerva stopped short when she saw Severus, her eyes softened and she offered him a sad smile, Severus returned a tight lipped almost grimace and Minerva nodded knowingly. She hurried Pomona over to the refreshments table, taking a cup of tea for both her and her friend. Severus had a soft spot for Minerva McGonagall, whilst in the beginning she had been very wary towards him, they grew to have a mutual respect which, over time blossomed into a friendship. She really was a lovely witch, albeit very nosy.  Like him, Minerva had faced great sadness.

It wasn’t long after the final gaggle of professors settled that the door clicked open for the last time. Professor Dumbledore swept into the room with a regal air only he could possess. Hot behind him, Severus could hear the click-clack of heels on the cold stone floor. The new professor stepped into the room hesitantly, she was young; maybe twenty-five? Surely too young to be the new DADA teacher. Severus felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. She presented herself to him politely with a warm, earnest smile. She was a whirlwind of red hair and green eyes and Severus felt sick. Her pale face looked up expectantly at him as she held out her hand for Severus to shake. He took it without thinking, her handshake was firm, and her touch sent electric pulses through his veins. She looked so much like her, he thought. If he let his eyes soften only slightly, he could almost pretend it was her, Lily. The new professor moved along the line of his colleagues shaking each hand with a dazzling smile. She wore a tight skirt cut just below her knee and a button-down shirt tucked in at the waist, the top few buttons unbuttoned to expose the top of her chest. Severus winced.

He hadn’t even caught her name; he was so bowled over by her resemblance to his lost love. In an instant he was transported back almost a decade, where he climbed the creaking staircase of on almost silent house save for the desperate cries of a baby. He had stepped over the body of his tormentor, her husband with ease; her body calling to him. And then, he saw her on the floor at the foot of a cot. The baby stood inside of it didn’t notice as Severus had fallen to his knees, he only wept for his mother- just out of his reach. The sob in Severus’ chest erupted into a howl of pain as he clutched at Lily and pulled her into his embrace.

He had no idea how long he had sat like that; the baby had long fallen asleep and Severus watched him, the lightening bolt scar brand new on his forehead looked sore. The baby whimpered in his sleep, Severus watched as the baby stretched his arms out and turned over. It was only the gentle tap Severus felt on his shoulder that reminded him he had to leave. Dumbledore surveyed the scene with a grave look on his face. He made his way over to where Severus sat with Lily and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Severus eyed Dumbledore as he tiptoed over to where the baby lay sleeping and picked him up wordlessly, carefully, so as not to wake him; and left. Severus knew that Dumbledore would be contacting Lily’s sister to arrange the funerals, so with great sadness, he lay Lily back on the ground. He took care to smooth her hair around her face, he picked her wand up from the floor and placed it in her hands that rested on her chest. Then he left.

“What say you, Severus?” Severus could feel the tears threatening to spill from his eyes as his attention was brought crashing back to the present. He was a master of disguising his emotions, in the blink of an eye his cold demeanour returned. He forced himself to look at Madame Hooch who waited for his response. “I must ask you to repeat the question, I’m afraid. It appears I was somewhere else entirely.” Severus said curtly. Madame Hooch was only too happy to oblige, she was asking whether he thought there was any truth in the rumours that the N.E.W.T.S were getting easier; and Severus gave a characteristically dry response which elicited both groans and chuckles in equal measure from his colleagues. But he couldn’t keep his eyes from her. His heart pounded loudly in his chest; he was sure everyone would be able to hear it. It was impossible to deny that she was an incredibly attractive woman, but he found her comments on testing here and overseas derivative, but- she looked like her. They must be some relation. Severus thought if he could work out when she attended Hogwarts, he might be able to place her and then assuage some of his concern. He had taught at this school for nearly decade, he would surely remember a fifth year who looked like her.

“I’m sorry professor,” Severus began, he had interrupted Flitwick mid speech regarding the importance of teaching second years proper duelling technique. Severus’ eyes burned into the new professor he didn’t know the name of yet. “I’m interested to know which house you belonged to whilst you were here. I’m terribly sorry but I can’t place you,” he said coolly. The new professor looked slightly startled as she took a sip of her tea, she the placed the cup delicately in the saucer resting on her knee. “That’s because you wouldn’t,” She smiled, “I went to Beauxbatons.” Minerva clasped her hands in delight; “Beauxbatons!” she exclaimed, “You must tell me how dear Madame Maxime is, I haven’t seen her in the longest time!” The new professor smiled kindly and told Minerva in detail of the last time she spoken with the Beauxbatons Headmistress. Severus’ body filled with quiet rage; she went to Beauxbatons? Isn’t that convenient. A school full of exceptionally beautiful young women? He could see it in her now, the way she trailed her hands up her thigh slowly to reach for her wand so Flitwick could inspect it. The way she gathered her thick red hair and pulled it to one side of her face; exposing her lock neck, her collarbone and oh so delicately the tops of her breasts. She was so sensual in her movements, he watched as the outer corner of her mouth twitched up into a smile and he felt something stir within him, deep in the pit of his stomach. He repulsed himself.

Severus stood unceremoniously and cleared his throat. “I must excuse myself, I still have quite a lot to prepare before term starts.” He mumbled and swiftly moved towards the door. Professor Dumbledore stopped him in his tracks with a hand, he gestured towards the new professor. “Of course, Severus, but would you mind escorting Professor Valentine to her quarters? She is to make use of Horace’s old rooms and they are of course, on the way to the dungeons.” He said cheerfully. The new professor, or rather, Professor Valentine stood and smiled. Severus’ jaw tightened as he flung the door open and waited for her to pass through.

Valentine.

Her name was Valentine. He threw Dumbledore a dark look as he slammed the door behind them making Professor Valentine jump. Severus kept swift pace down the Ravenclaw spiral staircase, he could see out of the corner of his eye that Valentine struggled to keep up. As the stairs became stone floor he slowed, his mind raced with all manner of things he wanted to say to her. He couldn’t stop himself stealing a look at her from the corner of his eye, she waked silently beside him; taking in the portraits which lined the walls and nodded at those who acknowledged her or flashing a brilliant smile if they spoke. “You don’t sound French,” Severus said, he surprised himself with his forwardness. He was embarrassed then, and brought his pace back up. Valentine smiled thoughtfully; “I’m not, I’m from Wales actually.” She answered. She’s Welsh, he thought. Yet she went to school in France. Still confused, Severus decided to pursue the matter. “May I ask why you didn’t attend Hogwarts then, Professor Valentine?” Without skipping a beat Valentine replied, “My father was working in France at the time, he thought it would be nice if we were closer together. So, I went to Beauxbatons instead.”

She’s lying, Severus thought. Whilst he never practiced his Leliglimency on his colleagues, he still had a strong sense for when someone wasn’t being truthful with him; especially when they were so close to him. They continued their walk in silence, Valentine stopped every now and again to inspect something on the walls or engraved on the floor. She always offered him an apologetic smile and a touch on the arm, and this annoyed him greatly. Not the dawdling, he was used to having to slow his pace when walking with others; but the way she touched him. She acted to familiar with him and it made him uncomfortable. Were she an old witch, short and stout he may have been able to overlook her terminal niceness, but Valentine made the breath hitch in his throat every time her side brushed against his. It was Lily, he knew it was. Severus felt he was being assaulted by his feelings, and here was this woman having she sheer audacity to go around looking so much like Lily Evans and…touching him. It was far, far too much for Severus to handle.

He stopped outside of Valentine’s door. A large-ish wooden door carved into an alcove in the castle wall. This part of the castle lead to nowhere but the dungeons and it was dimly lit, so if you weren’t looking for a door; you would miss one entirely. Valentine’s face lit up as Severus chivalrously opened the door for her, more out of curiosity on his part than anything else. He hadn’t been in there since Dumbledore had offered him these chambers all those years ago, Severus ultimately chose quarters adjacent to his classroom. She inspected the room excitedly; she moved her fingers deftly over the heavy curtains that hung by the big window. These rooms in this part of the castle were some of the last to possess windows and the view outside was very pretty. Her trunks and bags sat in the middle of the room; a desk rested against a wall with more bags atop it. A sofa sat invitingly in the middle of the room and better yet, her four-poster bed partially hidden behind it. Severus cleared his throat, still stood in the doorway.

“Oh Severus!” she exclaimed, “I completely forgot you were there.” Valentine giggled. Severus shifted his weight uneasily from foot to foot as she came towards him. “Would you like to come in?” “No,” he said too quickly. “No, thank you.” Valentine smiled at him and leaned a shoulder against the door frame, the light from behind her framed her silhouette beautifully. Severus swallowed hard. “Thank you for showing me the way down, I never would have found it without your assistance.” Severus nodded curtly and took every inch of her in. “Professor Dumbledore invited me to have a drink in his office this evening,” Valentine said matter of fact, “He said the other professors would be there. Are you going?” “I wasn’t going to; I have to prepare my ingredient lists to give to Professor Sprout first thing in the morning.” Severus muttered wryly. “Oh, of course.” Severus raised an eyebrow. Valentine looked sheepish before she said, “I was just wondering if you would collect me on your way. This castle is truly a maze, but if you’re not going, I’ll just see you-” “I’ll call on you at eight, Professor.” “Elizabeth,” she corrected with a grateful grin. “Elizabeth.” Severus nodded and turned his back. He continued down the corridor, it wasn’t until he heard Valentine’s door close a few feet behind him that he allowed himself to breathe. Why did he say that? Why did he offer to do that? He hated social gatherings with a fervent passion and yet, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.

He flew into his classroom and locked the door with a flick of his wand. He made his way through the lines of desks and into his chambers, he shifted the curtains aside which disguised the heavy wooden door. Once inside he unbuttoned his frock coat along with the top few buttons of his tight shirt. He skulked over to his drinks cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whisky and poured himself a generous glass, he then perched on the arm of the blood-red armchair that sat in the fireplace and rifled in the bottom drawer of his desk. Severus produced a packet of cigarettes and lit one, letting his head roll back and his eyes close. His heart was very heavy in his chest, so heavy he could hear his pulse in his ears. He knocked the whisky back and enjoyed the sensation as it burned his throat on the way down. Why was he torturing himself by volunteering his services to Valentine? He didn’t owe her anything and he certainly didn’t want to get to know her. She was too much like Lily and yet nothing like her at all. Her hair, her eyes, the kind features of her face transported Severus back to his youth; constantly fighting the urge to put his hands on either side of Lily Evans’ face and kiss her desperately. And yet, Valentine’s overt sexuality, her fashion and her subtle way of talking was nothing like any version of Lily he had ever seen. Severus was intrigued by this woman but also completely turned off by her. He wouldn’t be a man if he said he didn’t desire Valentine; but he was utterly devoted to his memory of Lily. He couldn’t understand why she would torment him so by looking so much like the woman Severus had lost all those years ago.

He stood slowly returned to his drinks cabinet and retrieved the whisky bottle, pouring another measure for himself. He held his glass in the air to toast; “Elizabeth Valentine,” he said to nobody and took two great gulps until there was nothing left. He set the glass back down next to the bottle and caught sight of the label, sitting wide across the middle of it.

Y Ddraig, it was called. Dragon whisky. Welsh.

[btshogwartsauheadcanons]

The Constellation Effect | Chapter 1

Pairings: Taehyung x Yoongi; Yoongi x Y/N

Ratings: slow burn, angst, soulmate au, fluff

Summary:

It's Yoongi's last year in Hogwarts, his last year to wonder about what he really wants to do after graduating. He can't think of a worst possible year to start falling for someone who isn't even able to leave the Hogwarts castle than this one.

It's Taehyung's last year before the Sickness finally causes him to slip into that dreaded coma. If only the ghost of his past self could finally pass over so Taehyung could focus on other things: becoming a Dragon Tamer, and finding out who has the same constellation tattoo he has.

It's Y/N's last year, or at least she hopes so. Or maybe she doesn't. It's kind of difficult when you're a ghost and in love with your best friend who happens to be graduating soon.

Connecting all three of them is the Constellation Effect, a universal phenomenon that marks everyone with stars and constellations on their shoulders, connecting them through past lives and dictating who belongs with whom.

Featuring: NamJin's never-empty plates of food, VHope if you look closely, and JiKook if you stay tuned to the next chapter.

Word Count: 6k words

A/N: Omg I’m so sorry this is so laaaaate. I finished the chapter a few days ago but I only got to upload it now T^T. Anyway, here’s the first chapter finally and I just really hope that college doesn’t stress me out enough to delay the next chapter. Also, I hope you guys really enjoy my first attempt at making a BTS Hogwarts soulmate AU :)

Check this out for more info about the soulmate AU

Part 1 of ?

“I can’t believe they deemed you mature enough to be Head Boy for Gryffindor,” Yoongi muttered as he watched Seokjin polish the pin on his robes for what seemed to be the fifth time that morning.

“Hey! I’m mature when I want to be,” Seokjin protested indignantly. “But, if you’re looking at the pool of seventh-year Gryffindor boys to choose from, I’d say this is pretty reasonable,” he shrugged. “Plus, it does match my overall aesthetic of—”

“Big-headedness?” Namjoon interrupted, poking his head into their train compartment. Yoongi laughed at the reaction on Seokjin’s face.

“I am this close to breaking up with you,” Seokjin scowled.

“That’s what you said last time, babe,” Namjoon grinned, kissing his boyfriend on the forehead before sliding into the seat next to him. Meanwhile, Yoongi stretched his legs out completely across the seat that was all his. He never really felt bothered by being the third wheel around Seokjin and Namjoon, or NamJin as he liked to call them to save on syllables. If they loved each other who was he to stop them from showing it?

“So, last year for you guys, huh?” Namjoon said, looking at both Yoongi and Seokjin.

“Yeah,” Yoongi nodded, looking out the window at the students in the station who were either loading their trunks, saying goodbye to their parents, boarding the train, or just doing a bunch of those things at the same time. “I can’t believe it’s been seven years already. It all feels so fast…”

“Awww, Yoongi’s getting all emotional on us already,” Seokjin sighed.

“Hyung it’s only the start of the school year and I thought I was the dramatic one,” Namjoon added, grinning cheekily at him.

“Shut up,” Yoongi scowled.

“Oh by the way hyung, did you check out that thing I sent you?” Namjoon asked.

“Yeah, I have it with me right now,” Yoongi nodded, pulling out a folded-up flyer from his jeans pocket. ‘MUSIC PRODUCERS WANTED’ was written on the top in big, bold letters. Yoongi’s eyes were especially drawn to the ‘BigHit’ logo on the very top part of the flyer. Most of the music Namjoon and Jungkook recommended him and had grown to love listening to were made by artists and producers under that entertainment company. Yoongi practically died and rose again when he pulled the flyer out of the envelope Namjoon sent him over the summer.

“What do you think?” Namjoon grinned, raising his eyebrow.

“That would be perfect for you!” Seokjin exclaimed.

“Do you really think I can make it?” Yoongi frowned. “I mean, I only started producing a year ago and—”

“You’re an absolute genius at it,” Namjoon cut him off. “Trust me Yoongi, your music sounds like you’ve been producing for years,” he grinned.

“Even I like it,” Seokjin added, nodding his head. “And I don’t even listen to your kind of music that much.”

“Thanks guys,” Yoongi quirked his lips up in a smile. “I-I think I’ll go for it then. I mean, I haven’t even done any apprenticeship or training things yet anyway.” He knew that most of his fellow seventh-years often took the opportunity during summer break do join apprenticeships or special training classes in things that they wanted to do in the future like working with the Ministry or becoming an Auror.

“Didn’t you do Ministry work with your dad?” Seokjin frowned.

“That doesn’t count,” Yoongi rolled his eyes. “I was there for a week before I finally bought some Puking Pastilles and pretended to be sick for another week.”

“A true Slytherin genius,” Seokjin clapped his hands slowly. “Wish I thought of that before being hauled off by my mother to join all her stupid business meetings.”

“You didn’t get to take up Professor McGonagall’s offer on becoming a Teaching Assistant did you?” Namjoon said sadly, placing his hand on Seokjin’s knee. Yoongi pouted sympathetically. Seokjin was one of those rare seventh-years who wanted to be a professor after graduating from Hogwarts. He often joked about gracing the History of Magic class with a more handsome face once he was qualified to be a professor. Still, he was quite the serious student and an even more serious study buddy whenever exams came up. Yoongi knew Seokjin would make an amazing professor.

“Well, there’s always this year,” Seokjin flashed his signature carefree grin and put his feet up on the seat next to Yoongi who scowled and inched himself away.

“Idiot, you’re Head Boy this year. Say goodbye to your beauty sleep,” Yoongi reminded him.

“Way to ruin the vibe,” Seokjin groaned.

“You’re supposed to be checking on the other students too before the train leaves,” Namjoon added.

“That can wait,” Seokjin waved it off and leaned his head on Namjoon’s shoulder. Yoongi chuckled at the two of them and looked down at the flyer, smoothing it over on his lap.

“You still have plenty of time to work on your track,” Namjoon pointed out. “The deadline’s still in December.”

“It’s gotta be a damn good one if I’m trying to get into BigHit,” Yoongi muttered, feeling his fingers subconsciously tapping on his knee, already trying to figure out some kind of main melody for his track.

“If it’s in December, you could come over to my house too during Christmas break if you need to use some equipment,” Namjoon volunteered. “Just tell your parents you’re staying over at Hogwarts again or something.”

“R-really?” Yoongi looked up at him with wide eyes. “That would be great!”

“Wow, you’re inviting him over for the holidays instead of your own boyfriend,” Seokjin huffed.

“What’s the use? My mom’s already sending you a personal invitation,” Namjoon grinned, pinching his boyfriend’s cheek.

“I guess she’s relieved that Namjoon has a soulmate that will really take care of him,” Yoongi chuckled.

“It’s hard not being the Mom Friend when you’re in a group that has both Namjoon and Kim Tae—”

“Mom!” Taehyung yelled, sliding the door to the train compartment open. The three of them inside jumped in surprise at his sudden appearance. Taehyung was still wearing his regular Muggle clothes: jeans, and what appeared to be either his pajama top or another one of his weird ‘fashionista’ tops. He was clutching a roll of parchment in one hand and a quill in the other.

“And another year in Hogwarts has begun,” Seokjin sighed.

“You need to help me with this essay,” Taehyung pleaded, looking at Seokjin and Namjoon.

“Come in and sit down,” Yoongi offered, moving his legs so that there was room on the seat next to him. Taehyung looked at him in surprise, as if realizing he was just there, before finally sliding into the seat next to him.

“Wait, don’t tell me this is the essay for your apprenticeship application,” Seokjin frowned. Taehyung nodded.

“Taehyung, tomorrow morning’s the deadline isn’t it?” Namjoon sighed. Yoongi found himself chuckling at the three of them. There was no way he was going to deny the fact that Taehyung was actually Namjoon and Seokjin’s child.

“What are you planning to apprentice in?” Yoongi asked, sliding closer to Taehyung.

“A Dragon Tamer’s assistant!” he exclaimed, the worried look on his face instantly melting away as he grinned. “Drake Pendleton, the most famous Dragon Tamer in Wales. He’s so good he managed to lure a Hungarian Horntail in a cage with nothing but two chickens.”

“And at this rate you won’t be able to see him if you don’t send that essay,” Seokjin warned. “How much have you written so far?”

“Two paragraphs,” Taehyung bit his lip, showing the parchment wherein two paragraphs, very short ones, were written in his signature, barely-legible handwriting. “Its hard to think of what to say and then write it down…” he mumbled.

“Well, two paragraphs is not nothing. I’m sure you can finish it within the day,” Yoongi reassured him.

“You of all people know that feeling,” Namjoon joked. Yoongi smirked in response. He was always cramming whatever he had due on the day itself. But despite how bad that sounded, it did come in handy when there was way more requirements than usual and cramming was the only thing left to do.

“Well catch you later then,” Seokjin adjusted his robes and stood up.

“Wait, where are you going?” Taehyung pouted. “You have to help me here.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Seokjin winked at him. “And besides, I was supposed to be in the compartment with the Prefects five minutes ago.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Namjoon volunteered, not quite to either Yoongi’s or Taehyung’s surprise. “I’ll try to help you out later, okay Taehyung?” And with one last wave from him, the two of them left the train compartment.

“Sorry again for bothering you,” Taehyung rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I really thought Namjoon-hyung and Seokjin-hyung would have time today to help me out. I guess I’ll go do it on my own.”

“Alright,” Yoongi shrugged, handing Taehyung’s essay back to him. Among the maknaes, Yoongi realized that Taehyung was probably the person he hung out with the least. Jungkook was his housemate and practically his little brother. Jimin was in the Dueling Club so they saw each other quite often. But Taehyung… it was pretty much evident that the boy didn’t really have a regular schedule. He pretty much did what he felt like doing at the moment, and that could be anything.

What he did know about Taehyung though, ever since he was in first year when he and the maknaes joined his circle of friends, was that he had the Sleeping Sickness. Every knew about it. After all, it wasn’t something easy to hide and Yoongi himself had witnessed Taehyung’s fainting spells time and time again. It was something everyone in their friend group was concerned about. He couldn’t possibly imagine how that would feel: to be branded and seen by everyone as someone with the Sleeping Sickness.

‘It’s going to be his last year too,’ Yoongi realized. It kind of terrified him now that Taehyung, one of his friends and people he personally knew, could just slip into that coma and probably never wake up. But judging by the way Taehyung was practically stressing his eyeballs out over his essay, it looked as if he was still quite optimistic about his future. It was Kim Taehyung after all.

“I guess I’ll get going,” Taehyung sighed and stood up by the train compartment door. “Jimin promised he would help me write this essay too.”

“Good luck,” Yoongi smiled a tight smile and waved before Taehyung finally left.

Now that he was alone in the train compartment, Yoongi found himself settling into his normal sleeping position: curled up on his side with his two hands pressed tightly in-between his thighs. His friends always told him he looked weird when he was asleep but Yoongi couldn’t help it, he liked having his hands close to him.

But even in his favorite sleeping position, Yoongi couldn’t quite stop the rush of anticipation he felt as the train grew closer and closer to Hogwarts. After a few more futile attempts, Yoongi had to give in, knowing that there was no way he was going to have his nap anytime soon when he knew he was going to see Y/n in a few hours.

Y/n, L/n. The ghost girl who haunted the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts Castle. And most importantly, Yoongi’s best friend since he was a first year. He could still clearly remember how he came across her while figuring out a secret entrance from the Astronomy Tower to the Ravenclaw Tower without having to pass through the enchanted doorway. She liked the fact that Yoongi wasn’t scared or wary of her and he liked that she was an easy person to talk to. Eventually, it became an everyday thing for Yoongi to go and see her at least once a day, mostly at night.

‘She never gets tired of looking at the stars,’ Yoongi thought with a wistful smile on his face. And with that, he found himself finally drifting off to sleep.

…

“Back so soon?” Jimin looked up and frowned when he saw Taehyung enter the train compartment they shared not long after he left.

“He had to go join the Prefects now that he’s Head Boy,” Taehyung pouted and sat down on the seat right beside Hoseok, across Jimin and Jungkook.

“I’m guessing Namjoon joined him too,” Hoseok smirked.

“Those two are practically glued together,” Jungkook said.

“Speak for yourself,” Taehyung and Hoseok chorused. Jimin erupted laughing.

“Yoongi-hyung was there though…” Taehyung added softly, already feeling his face beginning to flush.

“Well you should have asked him for help!” Hoseok started, standing up on his feet. “Come on, let’s go back.”

“No, he seems busy,” Taehyung shook his head. “He looked like he had something on his mind.”

“He always does,” Jimin shrugged.

“If only Hoseok could just talk about what makes hyung tick so we can help Taehyung out here,” Jungkook glared at Hoseok. But because of his so-called ‘bunny features’, it didn’t look threatening at all.

“My lips are sealed,” Hoseok shook his head.

“I guess I’ll have to rely on you three to help me write this thing,” Taehyung waved his sheet of parchment in the air.

“How many questions have you finished?” Hoseok asked.

“…One. Now I’m on ‘What kind of previous experiences with magical creatures do you think will help you as an apprentice?’”

“That’s easy,” Jungkook shrugged and put his feet up on the seat next to Hoseok who grimaced and pushed them away. “Just talk about that time you visited the Acromantula cave for a week when one of them was injured.”

“But Acromantulas are different from dragons.”

“How about that time you hatched salamander eggs all by yourself in the Ravenclaw Common Room?” Jimin suggested. “Salamanders are kind of similar to dragons.”

“And I bet Filch has a record of that if you need anything to prove your story,” Hoseok nudged him. Taehyung grinned at the memory of him and his friends trying to hatch salamander eggs together in the Ravenclaw Common Room’s fireplace. Even Yoongi was there passing cool towels around for people to prevent them from overheating. A small fire did happen inside the room but nothing an Aguamenti charm couldn’t handle. Still, Taehyung was punished with detention for his recklessness.

“I think I’ll go with that,” Taehyung nodded, picking up his quill before starting to write about it in his essay.

“Man, being Pendleton’s apprentice is going to be amazing for you,” Jimin sighed with an excited grin on his face. “You’ll be able to go to his awesome laboratory and travel with him around the world…”

“You better get his autographs for us when you do,” Jungkook added.

“Hold on, hold on, I haven’t even sent this essay yet,” Taehyung laughed nervously in reaction to his friends’ excitement. “I mean, I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to get in…”

“I’m sure Pendleton will see that you have what it takes,” Hoseok placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You’re more experienced at magical creatures than anyone I know in Hogwarts, except maybe Hagrid. And even he says than you know more than the seventh-year students he has.”

“But, I have the Sickness too,” Taehyung finally blurted out. Instantly, the look of excitement on his friends’ faces disappeared, replaced by looks of sympathy. Taehyung felt regret form like a lump in his throat, his friends only wanted to be excited for him. But the fine line between supporting Taehyung’s future dreams and escaping the current reality he was in grew thinner and thinner every day. It was almost his fifteenth year.

Among all of them, it was Jungkook who broke the silence.

“Well, if Pendleton rejects your application because of your Sleeping Sickness, then he’s not as resourceful and adventurous as we thought,” he said.

“You really do know the right thing to say sometimes,” Jimin smiled proudly at him.

“It’s true though,” Hoseok shrugged. “And besides, I’m positive that you’ll be fixed up and Sleeping Sickness-free by the time the year ends,” he grinned reassuringly. 

“I really do hope that some huge plot twist in my life happens before the year ends,” Taehyung shrugged one shoulder.

“Does this plot twist involve someone really short, kinda grumpy, and very good at dueling?” Hoseok raised his eyebrows. Jimin and Jungkook quickly joined in on the teasing.

“Shut up,” Taehyung groaned despite the embarrassed smile that was quickly growing on his face. “I regret my life the minute I started telling you guys about my Yoongi crush.”

“Who said we were talking about Yoongi?” Jungkook said. “I thought Hoseok was talking about Professor Flitwick.” And with that, the entire compartment dissolved into fits of laughter.

“Ugh, you guys are the worst. I’m doing my essay somewhere else,” Taehyung made a face at them and stepped out of the train compartment, still holding the piece of parchment he was writing on.

And that’s when his vision began to swim.

Taehyung gripped the door of the compartment to steady himself, blinking rapidly in order to get his bearings back again even though he knew that rarely worked. ‘No, not now! I still have to finish this essay!’ he thought frantically. But his vision only grew worse with the same black spots he’s known all his life appearing at the edges of his sight.

“Taehyung? You okay?” he heard Hoseok call out to him but his voice sounded further away than normal.

“H-hyung…” Taehyung said weakly before finally letting his legs give way, feeling a pair of hands catching him before he fell.

…

Yoongi found himself feeling antsy and restless throughout the entire Hogwarts opening feast. Was it just him, or were there at least a dozen more First-years in the new batch? Or maybe the Sorting Hat was taking a longer time than usual sorting the new students.

Sitting beside Namjoon and Seokjin seemed to make matters worse. Seokjin constantly refilled his plate while Namjoon practically had two bites of food for every ten minutes because he was reading another book so the sight of their full plates made it seem like time was barely passing at all. It drove Yoongi crazy. If there weren’t professors constantly keeping an eye on the Great Hall doors, Yoongi would have left in a heartbeat. Even though it was his last year of Hogwarts, and therefore his last Great Feast, Yoongi knew he wanted to spend it elsewhere.

‘She must be restless already,’ Yoongi thought, remembering that time when Y/N practically floated straight through him, probably her own way of clamoring him, the minute he stepped through the door. That was last year.

“Hey, has anyone see those three around?” Seokjin frowned, looking around the Great Hall. Yoongi joined in, glad that there was something to put his mind off the waiting. By ‘those three’, Seokjin always meant the maknaes. Just then, Yoongi spotted Hoseok – quite easily considering the fact that he always seemed to make his Hufflepuff robes seem more majestic than usual – stand up and walk over to their table.

“Finally got tired of them?” Yoongi smirked at him as he sat down.

“Aish, I’ll never get tired of my teammates,” Hoseok denied. “Well, maybe a little,” he added.

“You’re in a safe, quiet space,” Seokjin patted his back and handed him a plate of dinner rolls. “Come on, I don’t think you were able to eat properly around all that noise.”

“Thanks,” Hoseok flashed a tired smile and grabbed a few of the rolls.

“Hey, do you know where those three are? We haven’t seen them all night,” Namjoon asked, finally marking the page he was reading in his book and setting it down.

“Oh,” Hoseok’s face fell slightly and Yoongi could quickly guessed what he was going to say next. “It’s Taehyung.”

“Again?” Namjoon frowned worriedly. The joking, happy demeanor the four of them had earlier vanished. Even Seokjin stopped eating. “The last time that happened was like what, a week ago?”

“3 days,” Yoongi shook his head. “Jungkook wrote to me. Taehyung was sleeping over at his at that time.”

“Its supposed to be his final year already,” Hoseok added softly. “And he’s still signing up for Pendleton’s apprenticeship, something that he most definitely deserves to have and something he’ll undoubtedly get if it weren’t…”

“For the Sleeping Sickness,” Yoongi finished, nodding slowly.

“It just really sucks,” Hoseok shook his head.

“Well, its amazing that he’s still quite optimistic,” Namjoon smiled. “I mean, compared to other people I’ve met who have it. Taehyung really is amazing.”

‘You can think of it that way…’ Yoongi thought to himself but chose not to say it out loud anyway. Instead, he felt his hand reach instinctively to touch the tattoo on his shoulder. He couldn’t tell if it was just him, but he felt a sudden itch. Just then, a hush fell upon the Great Hall as Headmistress McGonagall approached the podium in front of the professors’ table.

“Students of Hogwarts,” she greeted. “Another Great Feast is approaching its end. For some of you, there are many, many more to come and for others, this will be one of your last few ones.”

“Why does she make it sound so ominous?” Seokjin shivered. Yoongi chuckled at him.

“Before letting you go to your dormitories,” Yoongi perked up slightly when he heard that, “I would like to make a special announcement.”

“I knew it! They’re finally adding an amphitheater!” Namjoon grinned and high-fived Yoongi.

“I guess we finally got through to McGonagall,” he cheered.

“This year,” McGonagall continued. Yoongi strained his ears to listen. “We’re going to have… a Yule Ball!”

“NO!” Yoongi and Namjoon groaned simultaneously.

“You tried,” Seokjin sighed, patting Namjoon on the back.

“The Yule Ball, often held during the now-illegal TriWizard Tournament, will happen at the end of the year and will be used as a fundraiser for a new amphitheater in school,” McGonagall finally finished. The Great Hall erupted into cheers.

“No way!” a grin broke out on Namjoon’s face again.

“Hey, won’t it be done by the end of the year? Like, when I’m about to leave?” Yoongi frowned. “Ah! Not fair!” he groaned.

“You can come back maybe?” Hoseok suggested.

“It’s not going to be the same,” Yoongi pouted.

“Information about the Yule Ball will be released later during the year,” McGonagall added. “But for now, everyone is invited to join dance lessons after school every Tuesday and Thursday.”

“Hey, let’s join that!” Seokjin elbowed Namjoon.

“Fine. But only because its your last your last year,” Namjoon smiled at his boyfriend. Yoongi wouldn’t deny that sometimes he did feel uncomfortable around Seokjin and Namjoon. Not because he felt jealous or disgusted, but because seeing their feelings for each other overwhelmed him. Their wistful smiles, the soft hand-touches, the way their heads and bodies automatically leaned towards each other when they were together, all of them echoing with ‘I love you and I’m glad I’m with you.’

It scared Yoongi.

He thought again about Y/n, his best friend, the ghost of the girl who died too quickly, never tasting the kind of love that Seokjin and Namjoon had, and ended up haunting the Astronomy Tower because of that lack.

Love was dangerous. And Yoongi didn’t know if he wanted to be a part of that.

…

“One hour…” Y/N whispered. You were sitting on the windowsill with your knees pulled up to your chest, watching the last thin trail of sands run down the hourglass. Gently, you picked it up and turned it over again. ‘Professor McGonagall must have some new big announcement this year,’ you wondered. The last Great Hall feast, the year when Yoongi entered to start his sixth year, just lasted for about two and a half hours. This one was already one hour over that time.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the entire summer break. Not only was she unable to see Yoongi, but write letters to him as well. Pranking Filch with Peeves and chatting with the Gray Lady occupied some of her time, but not a great big portion of it. Not enough to ignore the fact that Yoongi wasn’t there and that after this year, he won’t be coming back for a long time.

Were you in love with him? Undeniably so. And knowing that only made it passing on even harder. You felt sorry for whoever was occupying her next body but that even that couldn’t stop her feelings.

‘Maybe I’ll vanish too, after he leaves Hogwarts,’ you wondered. But based on what the other Hogwarts ghosts said, ghosts who had lived in the castle for centuries, passing on was difficult. Even more so if you’ve been around for quite some time.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening startled you out of your thoughts. You smiled at the familiar sight: Yoongi, with his inky black hair, worn-out but expensive clothes, and, you dared to think it, that glint in his eyes whenever he saw you.

“Yoongi!”

“Sorry I’m late Y/N,” Yoongi panted. It was clear that he probably ran up the stairs to the tower. “The feast took forever.”

“You should be enjoying it,” you grinned and shrugged one shoulder. “I mean, I’m not leaving anytime soon.”

Yoongi’s reply was already on his face and Y/N quickly looked away, wishing you hadn’t brought it up too early on in your meet-up. But Yoongi didn’t say anything. Instead, he walked towards you and picked up the hourglass.

“I can’t believe you still have this,” he smiled slightly, looking down at it.

“Of course, a decent Yoongi gift is pretty rare,” you laughed.

“Hey! I only gave you a rock five times,” he protested.

“Five times out of six!”

“Fair enough,” Yoongi sighed, clearly knowing he lost. You smiled at the hourglass still in his hands. It was made of carved red oak, polished and varnished until it shone. Inside the glass were grains of sand that magically changed color whenever you turned the hourglass.

“It makes up for all of those rock gifts though,” you chuckled, putting your feet down and scooching over closer to him. “Well, almost.”

“My company itself is the gift,” Yoongi joked.

“As if!”

“I guess the normal topic of conversation right now would be ‘What did you do over the summer?’ but I doubt that’s going to be more of a one-side conversation,” Yoongi looked up at you. His bangs fell over his forehead in a wave and you resisted the urge to push them back. You could only touch objects, not people. If you tried to, all Yoongi could feel would be ice on his brow.

“You know how much I love one-side conversations,” you grinned at him instead, pulling your knees up to your chest again and resting your chin on top.

“Alright then,” Yoongi grinned, adjusting his position so he was leaning against the window frame before proceeding to talk about his summer. You always liked watching Yoongi talk for lengths at time. He rarely talked at length with people, except his friends, but when he did, it was often at length. It sometimes amazed you that he had all of those thoughts stored up inside him. No wonder his rap lyrics were often so good.

“I think you should definitely go for submitting to BigHit,” you said. “It sounds like something you want to do. And don’t you want to see how good your music is out in the Muggle world?”

“I know but…” Yoongi pouted slightly. “It means I’ll have to be gone during Christmas break to work on it. I won’t—”

“A few weeks of Christmas break is way shorter than two whole months of summer,” you waved him off. “And if you miss this kind of opportunity, I’ll haunt you every night starting at two in the morning,” you warned.

“Aish, you’re really evil,” Yoongi groaned but smiled nonetheless. “Are you sure you’ll be okay here?”

‘I’ll miss you… terribly,’ you thought but again, held it back. “As long as you give more presents,” you grinned cheekily.

“Fine, more rocks it is then,” he laughed.

“Get out of here!”

Yoongi laughed even louder at that and you couldn’t help but join in. He always made you laugh.

But all the while, you kept wondering how it was possible for your chest to hurt even if you didn’t have a body.

…

“Come on, its three in the morning already. Filch will give you hell for this,” Y/N urged Yoongi again, gesturing at the hourglass beside them which had completed another hour.

“Don’t lie, you sent Peeves after him again, didn’t you?” Yoongi pointed.

“How dare you accuse me of such a crime!” Y/N gasped before finally laughing and nodding. “Yeah, I did.”

“I knew it,” Yoongi smirked and leaned back against the wall as he looked at Y/N again. It was obvious that she wouldn’t change over the summer. Same hair, same height, same long, white, nightgown. Sometimes Yoongi wondered how she would change over the years as a normal Hogwarts student. Maybe she’d wear more make-up or fix her hair differently, or change up her clothing style. But then thinking about all of that made him feel undeniably sad. No, Y/N was never going to change. Only disappear, if she ever did.

“Come on,” Y/N urged him again. “You need to wake up bright and early for your first seventh-year class!”

“Fine…” Yoongi finally gave in and stood up. “But I’m telling you, I really don’t do bright and early.” Y/N smiled up at him. He couldn’t tell if it was the moonlight shining but somehow, she seemed to be glowing quite brightly. A puzzled look came up on her face and Yoongi quickly looked away when he remembered he was staring.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and making his way to the door.

“See you tomorrow, Yoongi,” Y/N called after him before he finally left the room. Once outside, Yoongi pulled out his wand and cast a Lumos charm before going down the winding steps of the Astronomy Tower. Once he reached the bottom landing where the upper floor hallway was, Yoongi headed off to the left, passing the Ravenclaw Tower and towards where the stairs were. Suddenly, he heard a small voice call out to him.

“Yoongi-hyung!”

“AHHH!” Yoongi dropped his wand in surprise and whirled around to find Taehyung sitting on the ground, near the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower.

“Scared you?” Taehyung grinned cheekily, picking up Yoongi’s wand and handing it back to him.

“W-why aren’t you in bed?” Yoongi stammered.

“Why aren’t you in bed?” Taehyung returned the question.

“Answer my question first!”

“Fine, fine,” Taehyung gave in. “I was working on my essay,” he answered, pulling out a piece of parchment from his pocket.

“In the dark?”

“Glow-in-the-dark pen!” Taehyung grinned, showing off a pen, not unlike the one Namjoon used. “I bought it at Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. The ink glows in the dark but only in the hands of its user. Under regular light, it just looks like plain ink.”

“That’s pretty nifty,” Yoongi raised his eyebrows in appreciation.

“So, why are you out at night, hyung?” Taehyung asked.

“I was just stargazing,” Yoongi lied effortlessly.

“Ooh, I never knew you liked doing that too,” Taehyung grinned. “Tell me when you go next time so we can watch together!”

“Sure,” Yoongi smiled and ruffled his hair, even though he had to reach up a bit since Taehyung was already two inches taller than him. And without even fully considering it, he said “Need any more help with your essay?”

“Um…” Taehyung looked down at his parchment. “It’s kind of late and—”

“Come on, two heads are better than one,” Yoongi shrugged and sat down on the floor where Taehyung was earlier. Reluctantly, Taehyung joined him, unfolding his essay on the floor between them.

“Hmm… it’s going to be even harder working in this lighting,” Taehyung muttered. “Hold on…” Yoongi watched silently as Taehyung took off his shoe and with a wave and a tap of his wand, transfigured it into an oil lamp. Yoongi whistled in surprise.

“Once again, your Transfiguration skills are amazing,” he praised him.

“Thanks,” Taehyung grinned. “I haven’t seen Filch around so this should be okay.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he’ll be coming anytime soon,” Yoongi chuckled. “Oh, maybe you should mention your Transfiguration skills in your essay.”

“Good idea!” Taehyung grinned, bending over as he scribbled some more stuff on the parchment. “I kind of lost time by fainting earlier but at this rate, I should be done with this by morning.”

“That’s the spirit!” Yoongi patted him on the back.

“Man, I really hope I get accepted into this apprenticeship,” Taehyung sighed. “If I see him taming a dragon in real life I’ll probably faint. But like, just because of that.” Yoongi burst out laughing which made Taehyung laugh too.

“That… that might not be such a good idea,” Yoongi said in between catching his breath from laughing too hard.

“I’m glad you laughed,” Taehyung grinned. “When I joke about it around my friends I usually just get a look of concern on their face.”

“Hmm, I wonder why?”

After an hour more of exchanging ideas, and some jokes, Taehyung finally finished his essay. Yoongi patiently waited for him to finish rewriting it on a fresh piece of parchment before leaving. Even though it was four in the morning, Yoongi didn’t feel in the least bit tired. In fact, he felt quite excited for Taehyung. ‘I don’t care if he has the Sleeping Sickness or not and ends up fainting while riding a dragon or something, I hope Taehyung gets this apprenticeship.’

“You really were a big help hyung, I owe you three pranks,” Taehyung grinned, looking up at him over his essay.

“I’ll take note of that,” Yoongi grinned.

“Have you tried signing up for apprenticeships yet?” Taehyung asked.

“Not really an apprenticeship,” Yoongi shook his head. “It’s… more of a Muggle internship.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded-up flyer that was still there and handed it to Taehyung.

“Whoa, this was the one Namjoon-hyung was raving about,” he said. “Hyung, you should really join this!”

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me,” Yoongi shrugged one shoulder. “There’s a high chance that I’ll be rejected due to my inexperience but I still think that it could be worth a shot. Right now, not doing anything scares me even more.”

“Hmmm… me too,” Taehyung smiled sadly and leaned back against the wall. “It’s… it’s weird that I’m trying for this apprenticeship even though it is supposed to be my last year but I can’t help it.”

“You must really believe that your previous ghost reincarnation is going to pass on,” Yoongi remarked.

“It’s not that,” Taehyung shook his head. “I… I don’t really have a lot of hope for that. I’d rather take things into my own hands and try to make the best out of things before I, you know, slip into that coma. Of course I still hope that I wake up and all…”

“I hope that too,” Yoongi nodded. “Hoseok will cry for months and bother me if you don’t. Actually, everyone will.”

“How about you hyung?” Taehyung mock-pouted. “Aren’t you going to cry?”

“I’ll probably be busy handing everyone tissues,” Yoongi grinned cheekily and stood up. “Well, I guess my work here is done. Make sure you write the right address on the envelope.”

“Thanks again hyung!” Taehyung grinned. “See you around.”

And with that, Yoongi resumed walking back to his dormitory. Once he reached the end of the hallway, he couldn’t help but turn around to look at Taehyung sitting on the floor with his knees curled up to his chest as he wrote; the lamp in front of him cast everything in a warm light. Yoongi’s mind brought up the image of Y/N from earlier, right when he entered the Astronomy Tower, sitting with her knees curled up to her chest as well as she watched the hourglass; the moonlight from the window bathing her in cool, white light. 

[dangermousie]

Reading list for the month - hooray for the Middle Ages!!

I’ve not really been watching much lately (except that I just discovered the Legend of Fuyao and it’s AHMAZING) but I have been reading a bunch, hence the reading list. I also have a v short attention span so while I am not reading all the books listed below that I recently got and/or put on my kindle, I am reading about five of them at once.

As you can tell, I am on the Middle Ages kick right now. Also, as you can tell, current historical crushes are apparently William the Conqueror and Edward the Black Prince and Richard III (always.) Hmmmm.

Valerie Anand, King of the Wood - how many novels are there about the time of William Rufus aka Fabulously Gay aka Killed By Arrow Mysteriously Probably By Orders of Baby Bro? This one revolves around William and Ralph de somebody, a minor nobleman who comes over to get lands and power. Ralph is young and hot and William fancies him and even though Ralph is not inclined that way, he is not going to turn down a roll or dozen in the hay with the king if it gets him closer to his goal. Apparently this all leads to mixed results, eventual death of William, ancient pagan rites, Ralph getting some land and a hot wife, and overall a very sympathetic portrayal of William Rufus. I have not started yet though.

Anna Belfrage, The Cold Light of Dawn - the fourth and possibly last in one of my favorite medieval series that follows the lives of a minor knight, Adam, and his arranged but then more, wife, Kit during the reigns of Edward II and III.  This is such a lovely lovely series and this book so far is as good as the rest. Adam is a protege of Roger Mortimer (of the “de facto ruler of England, lover of Queen Isabella’ fame) and when the book 1 starts is slated to arrange marry a spoiled aristocrat who is missing so her family hastily substitutes a bastard daughter and lieeeees. The books follow them as they fall in love, reveal their secrets, try to survive in a pretty horrible time period etc etc. Adam eventually becomes close to Edward III which causes all sorts of internal conflicts. Book 1 is probably my fave (though second half of it is a giant trigger warning as Despenser takes Adam and, to lesser degree, Kit, under his notice) but all of them are good and the latest is wonderful as always. Frankly, by now, I love the lead couple so much, I could just read about them going about their business in their residence for 500 pages.  

Anna Chant, Three Times the Lady - I can’t believe I found a novel about Judith, first Countess of Flanders! If you do not know who she is, Judith was a daughter of a Frank king who married her to a much older king of Wessex. When the old man died, she married his grown son (this was a few centuries before the Church would have fits about this) and when that man died, she returned back home. Daddy King did not want to lose such a valuable bargaining chip (who was still quite young) either to make her own marriage or to be taken by some lord via kidnap so he stuck her in a remote fortress while he decided which potential husband would make the best bargain. Ummm. Hunky Baldwin was guarding the place, he and Judith fell for each other and with the help of her brother ran off and got married. Daddy King lost his mind, took Baldwin’s lands, the lovers had to go to the Pope to beg for help blah blah eventually Daddy King cooled down, Baldwin became the first Court of Flanders and got nicknamed Iron Arm for how hard he fought to protect his father in law. So basically, this is a RL medieval romance, of the “hot dude in chainmail holding pretty lady on cover” variety. Seriously - I am very surprised this is the only novel of her I know. I realize records were not as good as they were later but this just gives more room for license. I am quite excited to read this since I’ve read a couple of other books by Chant set around that time and loved them.

Joanna Courtney, The Conqueror’s Queen - Matilda, Mrs the Conqueror. Hmmmmmm. I am about 1/3 in. The book’s odd insistence on Matilda liking but not loving William despite his being amazing in beddddd and generally a stud muffin of stud muffiness is a little odd (it’s just an odd combo) but it’s a fun light read. What I would really love is for someone like Sharon Kay Penman to write a giant doorstopper of a series about that reign.

Joanna Courtney, The Constant Queen - about Elizabeth, the Russian wife of Harald Hardrada. I am about 60% in. It’s not as good as it could be (it doesn’t make Harald interesting which, even reading a short summary of his life on wikipedia - the man had an insane life) but it’s about a subject that’s not novelized often or even that well-know (in fact, prior to this book, the one thing I knew about Harald was that he was defeated by Harold Godwinson who then had to take his exhausted troops and march to fight William the Conqueror. If not for that, England now might be ruled by Harold’s and not William’s descendants.) Also, Elizabeth herself is likeable and the author does a good job on selling me that the two loved each other even while not falling into the trap of making the relationships modern (Harald has a hand-fast wife because he needs sons; it’s not much of an issue etc.) It’s a pleasant beach/travel read.

Dorothy Dunnett, King Hereafter - my favorite stand-alone period novel of all time and I am gonna reread it and bawl. It’s about Earl Thorfinn of Orkney, who Dunnett supposes to be the basis for historical Macbeth. It is simply the best historical novel ever written and if Thorfinn/Groa don’t move you, you have no heart. It’s also a rare book where people feel like people of the period, not modern people playing dress up.

Parke Godwin, Sherwood/Robin and the King - I used to love this bleak, emotional, amazing duology which moves the story of Robin Hood around the time of the Norman Conquest. I just got my hands on it again.

Karen Harper, The First Princess of Wales - ok, this is pretty much a romance novel. About Edward the Black Prince and Joan of Kent. So bring it on!

Justin Hill, Viking Fire - a novel about Harald Hardrada whose life I am fascinated by now

Thomas W. Jensen, As a Black Prince on Bloody Fields - I am currently about a third into this and loving it. It deals with basically the first half of the life of Edward the Black Prince, who is one of my favorite historical what-ifs. Oldest son and heir of Edward III, the Black Prince was a hell of a medieval warrior, very involved in Crecy and in charge in Poitiers, two of the three biggest English victories in the 100 years war. In the latter, heavily outnumbered English captured the French king himself. Also, interestingly, he married for love in quite a scandal. Instead of marrying a foreign royal, he married an English noblewoman, older than him (she was 32 when they married!!!), a widow with five children AND a scandalous history (her first two husbands had a fight that went all the way to the Pope about which one of them was her actual husband. There were secret marriages and all that.) He married in secret, his father eventually came around etc. He would have probably made a King in the scary but effective mold of Edward I, but on one of his campaigns, he contracted one of many nasty medieval diseases -  dystentery - which crippled and eventually killed him shortly before his father died, leaving his small son to become Richard II.  If the Black Prince was better about drinking clean water, Edward III would have been succeeded not by a small child who, as an adult, wasn’t particularly cut out for the rough business of medieval Kingship, but by a competent and scary adult warrior. Thus no Henry IV revolt (do you really want to face the man who almost conquered France), no war of the Roses, no Tudors, no Church of England. Anyway, he was a fascinating man, in some ways an epitome of medieval warrior class ideals but probably because of that, there aren’t too many novels about him in the last whatever years. Like Henry V, his virtues are a bit too alien for the modern world. He is VERY medieval. But I find him fascinating beyond measure and deserving of more books about him, so this excellent excellent novel is such a pleasure.

Susan Fraser King, Queen Hereafter - about Margaret, wife of Malcolm (of the son of Duncan, killer of Macbeth fame.) I know little about it except the topic interests me.

G. Lawrence, The Heart of the Conqueror - Matilda, again. Matilda here is portrayed as rather an anti-heroine, vain, ambitious and picking William because he’s the scariest and most capable man she met. They are monsters in love (though, frankly, their attitudes are not such much monstrous as early medieval) and I do love them so. I find it quite odd that the author chose to start her novel with the apocryphal story of Matilda insulting William’s courtship and calling him a bastard and William riding in to beat her up in her own father’s town and her deciding this is what she digs in a dude. Lawrence makes the beatdown, already possibly fictional, quite brutal, so it makes me wonder if Matilda is insane to decide William is it because of it. Also, he never lays a finger on her again so wtf. Oh well, historically they did seem to have a rare successful marriage so there is that - I don’t mind him being a good husband since it’s historically accurate, it’s just the weird start to the relationship that makes me boggle.

Rosanne E. Lortz, I Serve: A Novel of the Black Prince - you can tell I am on the Black Prince kick, right? This is about a squire to him and looks quite interesting but I haven’t read it yet.

Isolde Martyn, The Knight and the Rose - sometimes you are just in the mood for an angsty but happy medieval romance.

Anne O’Brien, The Virgin Widow - Romancey take on Anne and Richard III? Yes PLS. If I like this, I might end up getting more of the author’s books as she appears to specialize in known but not super famous medieval women with strong romantic relationships, so YES. I did find it tragically amusing that in order to make the end happy (I peeked), she ends before all the bad stuff happens - their son dying, Anne dying, Richard being killed etc. But then I bawled with the Sunne in Spendour so....

Edith Pargeter, The Brothers of Gwynnedd - reread. It’s a great, epic, tragic, poetic tale of the end of the Welsh independence and surprisingly, in light of all the tragedy, somewhat of a comfort read.

Judith Merkle Riley, A Vision of Light - about a widow of a medieval merchant, this has been recommended to me by multiple people. We shall see.

Anya Seton, Katherine - I read that book so long ago, I barely remember anything. But it’s a classic and Katherine Swynford has always been interesting and I am a sucker for RL romance so reread!!!

Freda Warrington, The Court of the Midnight King - a fantasy AU of Richard III where he gets to live and be happy with his mistress Kate (modeled on mother of his illegitimate child in RL) Oh YES.

[halfbreedhawkins]

⏰ 31

The mirror was telling her she looked great, the robes brushed the tips of her shoes, and her hair was perfectly curled at the nape of her neck, held back with a string of polished jewels and blown glass, each bead sparkling with some magic that Helle had twirled into its molten core. Penny’s fingers were heavy with gold bands wrapped around her thumbs, the familiar runic markings of Hector’s practice, while Eudora’s leatherwork shone from the holster that sat on her waist. There even several dragon scales pressed into the leather of her boots, their shined as she walked down the marble hallway and people turned to her, eyes widening and whispers following her wake. Attie was just to her left and back, eyes wary.

They’d never been this deep into the Ministry before now, at least they weren’t allowed to be and as Penny stopped in the holding Attirum, jaw clicking, fingers flexing she couldn’t help but feel like this was wrong.

“You’re doing fine Penny,” Attie’s voice was soft in her ear even as she brushed lint from her spotless coat before wandering fingers went to tuck a braid back into its metal clip. 

“It should be you,” her voice caught, low and in her throat. She could see Major Bones from the corner of her eye, looking sweet as when they were young and running the streets from opposite ends, “you’re the one that does this sorts of things--”

“Yeah, for our family, not for everyone. Face it, Penny, you’re the only one for this job.”

“There are so many better people that can do this than me,” there was a vice around her neck she was sure, the robes far too heavy to really be made of cloth. “We both know this could be a trap.”

“The Ministry wants a seat for the Werewolves on the Wizagmont, just as they asked the Veelas and the Goblins and the Vampires. Everyone is sending an official, and guess what Penny, you finally get a chance to do something for us.”

She wanted to pace, but the sound of her boots on marble only set her further on edge, her tongue finding that empty slot where her tooth used to be.

“They pardoned everyone three years ago Penny.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

“Aren’t you, if you go in there they won’t know the brilliant voice of reason, or our tactician or the person who worked so hard to quell the violence. They’ll see the girl from their wanter posters, and you’re terrified of that.” Attie’s voice signaled a challenge, one Penny didn’t quite feel ready to face. 

“Voice of reason, people got killed, I nearly got killed. Joey--” she stopped herself, taking in a deep breath.

“Joey knew the risks and the rewards.”

Penny blinked before watching as the clock struck its time. Attie’s mouth shut, her fingers tangling in blonde locks, tugging and scratching at her scalp.

“I was supposed to help you calm down, but I’ve only gone and made you more nervous haven’t I?” there was no sheepish expression, no sign she felt guilty over it. It wouldn’t do for the leader of a Pack to show weakness. 

Penny shrugged and watched as the holding Attirum’s doors opened, and Major Bones gestured for her to enter, the air was thin down here, made thinner by the scent of ink and wet stone threatening to clog her pores. 

The Ravenclaw didn’t bother with a goodbye to Attie as she stepped through the doors.

Across the way she recognized the Half-Giant, he was from the far North, they’d met once or twice before at various Revolution meet-ups. Back when there was a Revolution to fight for. She nodded to him, Arthur Crakstone was an intelligent person, soft of voice, and an excellent Healer. She didn’t wonder why the Giants had picked him as their Representative, and he waggled his fingers when she caught his eyes.

Penny didn’t recognize the Veela, but like all Veela she knew her scent was unmistakably and cloying. It was like holding a bundle of roses to her nose and forcing her to sniff. The Ravenclaw sneezed, the insistent aura of the Veela largely unaffecting her, unlike others in the room.

The vampire she knew, Lenora Turnbill was a few hundred years old by now, eternally 23, had a penchant for dramatics. Penny had no idea how they could send her in, Turnbill was famous for making the dramatic a proper school play with her as the star. 

The goblin was a banker, he been handling the Hawkins account since she was a child. Always had some candy for them even though she was well past candy jar days. He waved joyfully at her, bouncing on the balls of his feet, a lovely person dressed finely in mauve robes and an argyle sweater vest.

The Wizagmont loomed large above them, in their circular chairs, with five seats scattered through like an Alchemy array. There were so many familiar faces, old seats of power handed from pureblood whelp to the next, overwhelming in their scope and power. Penny smiled at the Minister who didn’t smile back, expected of a leader who was allowing such breaching of British Wizarding Conduct. 

“Please for the record state your names, education, and affiliation.”

“Arthur Crakstone, I am a Hogwarts Alumni from Slytherin House,” there was a low mummer, “and I am from the Crakstone Tribe to the Far North and stand before the Wizagmont as the elected political figurehead for the Giants.” There was a slow clap as a set of stairs appeared to his left and the Minister motioned for him to take his seat.

There was a flash of light from the other end of the circle before the Turnbill curtseyed, the flair of her scarlet dress flowing about in a magicked breeze.

“I am Lenora Turnbill, your new Vampiric resident, I do hope we can come to many conclusions and labors of love over the world of magical law together.” The stairs appeared which she rose up to like an old Hollywood actress, and Penny began to sweat. She hardly noticed the Veela -- Justine? -- go up, nor the goblin banker until all eyes were on her and she took a step forward. 

“My name is Persephone Hawkins,” there was a titter from the crowd, “some of you already know me, as I’ve stood here before years ago--”

“Minister is this legal? She was a wanted criminal for years.” The busybody scowled down at her, box braids pulled back with silver beads and Penny’s nose twitched.

“I was elected at the Summer Werewolf Meet by the 9 Great Clans of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. My criminal records have been dropped, thanks to our Minister,” she inclined her chin but no less than an inch, she didn’t dare drop her eyes from the Wizagmont. “I represent the interests, culture, and history of the Werewolf Clans and I am a halfbreed.”

The stairs did not unfurl.

“Persephone Hawkins,” the voice came from the far right, she turned her head to look at the elderly man, “you have stood accused of starting an Uprising in the summer of 2021.”

“I have.”

“Yet, you have been elected to represent your people here, in the greatest office of power.”

Penny wanted to scream that she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to leave her life at Edale, her books written under a false name, her slow walks by the river with Joey in tow. She didn’t want to keep fighting anymore. Didn’t she deserve to pass the torch onto someone younger, someone a little less smudged by the actions of the past. She wanted her cottage and her flannel shirt, she wanted Joey snuffling against her neck and the sound of her cousin’s kids at her door begging for cookies. 

Penny didn’t want to be here.

“I have been elected, by nearly twenty packs, nine clans, and over 600 people to represent who we are. We are wolves, feared by greater magical society, raised to believe we are nothing but monsters and fiends, terrifying creatures in the night. Just as they were raised to think about my fellow Vampires and to believe the stupidity of Giants, the greed of the Goblins or the demonic allure of the Veela. They chose me, Persephone Hawkins, Ravenclaw to represent them, their interest, our laws, our beliefs, here on this floor and in those seats.” Her name had floated above the fire, in beautiful blue cursive. The moon was high in the air as Joey gripped her arm tightly. The Hawkins were all howling, beating out a frantic beat on drums while the other Clans began to dance. They had chosen her, and Penny felt something like shame and horror building in her gut. 

The Minister didn’t look at her, just raised their hand and the stairs unfurled to her seat.

“Then climb Peer Hawkins, if your people place such faith in your ability to lead then we must of course, according to the Act of Sovereignty of Beingfolk, must allow this.”

Penny climbed the steps as an argument broke out, seating herself at the highbacked plum chair, her neighbors separating themselves, except for one who leaned over her shoulder. He was young, maybe in his 40′s with dark eyes and a broad farmer's face.

“Peer Hawkins,” he tilted his head forward, ignoring the debating din around them, “I am Peer Magnus Pyrite, pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise Peer Pyrite.” she shook his offered hand and listened as the arguments died down, more than a few remember of Wizagmont staring at her. “Do you think they’re getting my good side?” Penny hummed under her breath, “My wanter poster didn’t do me much justice I’ll be honest.”

“Let them look,” Pyrite leaned back into his own seat, “you’ve got more friends than contenders in this room anyway, they’re just blowing hot air because you dared to answer a summons.”

Penny smiled and settled back, watching as Crakstone was already showing off pictures of his newborn daughter and her goblin friend was handing candy to a girl in her 20′s that look exhausted as the idea of even being there. There was a call to order and Penny let her back go straight.

There was work to be done, and as she pulled a quill from her robes and the latest debate began to circulate. She stood, and took a deep steadying breath.

Showtime.

[excerptsfromunfinishednovels]

Excerpts From Unfinished Novels #20: Fun and Games

Genre: adventure/humour

Warnings: slight homophobia

Word Count: 1,499

Summary: War is upon the country, and soldiers Cillian, Pete, and new arrival Ewan are stuck in prison together. Cillian’s adamant that one should never fraternize with the enemy, but Pete and Ewan have another idea…

Excerpt is from the first third of the novel

“All right, tough question now,” Peter said, his eyes narrowing as he stared Ewan down. “Red or brown sauce?”

“Um…” The other boy licked his lips nervously, took a deep breath and said, “Red.”

Peter’s face immediately lit up and he beamed as he held his hand up and said, “Deadly, me too.”

The two boys high-fived while Cillian scowled at them from his perch in the corner of their cell, and Ewan said, “Okay, my turn. Soccer or rugby?”

“Eh, neither,” Pete said with a grimace. “Hurling is the only game for me. You’re living in Ireland now Welshy, you’re going to have to learn to integrate with the local culture.”

“I’ve never even heard of hurling before,” Ewan admitted, his cheeks reddening.

“Ah it’s brilliant it is,” Pete said enthusiastically. “Really fast-paced and exciting, and the players are tough as nails. It’s a proper sport it is.”

“That’s how I feel about rugby,” Ewan said enthusiastically. “The players are literally tackling each other to the ground – they’d be covered in blood and still playing!”

“Really?” Pete asked, his tone impressed. “That sounds all right.”

“It is; you should come watch a game with me next chance we get.”

“Sounds good. So, how does Wales compare to Ire-”

“Oh my Jesus would you stop chatting with him?!” Cillian yelled in exasperation. “He’s the feckin enemy!”

Pete and Ewan turned towards him and stared, Ewan nervously and Pete contemptuously.

Pete sniffed disdainfully. “What crawled up your arse and died? I was only making conversation.”

“Yeah with Welshy here who’s from the enemy army.”

“So?”

“So? So! He’s the enemy Pete. Ergo, you can’t talk to him.”

“Look Cillian, we’re all in prison together. Ergoooo, I’m bored, you’re being a Mopey Michael, and if I want to chat with Ewan here, then I will chat with him. Got it? Besides, once the War’s over we’ll all be in school together, so it’ll be good if we’re already friends.”

Cillian humphed, crossed his arms and turned away from them to pointedly stare at the wall. Pete made a face at him and then turned back to Ewan who was grinning at him.

“Thanks,” Ewan said gratefully.

“No problem. Ignore Cillian, he can be a complete gobshite sometimes.”

“Hey!”

“Anyway,” Pete continued, completely ignoring Cillian who was fuming at him. “When did you get over here?”

“Five days ago. This uh…this war is pretty intense eh?”

“Oh yeah,” Pete said solemnly. “Like, if you’re in prison it’s grand to have a chat as long as you don’t talk about your squad’s plans or anything, but once you’re out on the front line…it’s every man and woman for him or herself.”

“There are girls fighting?” Ewan asked, pulling a face.

“Don’t underestimate them,” Pete told him. “They’re some of the meanest and toughest soldiers out there.”

“Okay got it, stay away from the girls.”

“Speaking of girls…” Pete said slyly, “Have you met anyone you like yet?”

“Umm…”

“You have!” Pete crowed in delight. “Who is it – Niamh? Rachel? Mary? It’s not…it’s not Anne-Marie, is it?” he asked, his voice suddenly tight and eyes hollow.

“No, no, none of them,” Ewan said hastily. He bit his lip and ducked his head as he wrung his hands. “I, uh…Idon’tlikegirls,” he said in a rush, wincing before he’d even finished speaking.

“You what?”

“I don’t…I don’t like girls,” Ewan admitted with a sigh. “Yes there’s someone I met that I like, but he’s a boy not a girl.”

“Oh.” Pete looked thoughtful for a moment, while Ewan continued to wring his hands, a distraught look on his face. “Is it James?”

Ewan’s jaw dropped and he gaped at Pete, who laughed and said, “I knew it!”

“H-how did you know?”

“Because James is the best-looking guy out of all the guys in both our army and yours; all the girls are mad for him. You know,” he added nonchalantly, “he’s been asked out by a lot of girls but he’s always turned them down.”

“Oh my God are you seriously encouraging him?” Cillian said scathingly.

“What is your problem now?” Pete sighed wearily.

“He likes boys!”

“So?”

“So?! So it’s…it’s…” Cillian spluttered and eventually spat out, “weird.”

Ewan flinched and Pete rolled his eyes and said, “It’s not weird.”

“Yes it is.”

Ewan pursed his lips and glared at Cillian before abruptly turning to Ewan and saying, “Why do you like James?”

“I, uh…because he’s cute and funny and smart?”

“Good reasons. I like Anne-Marie because she’s cute and funny and smart. So you see Cillian, both of us like someone because of the same reason. Ergo, not weird. You, on the other hand,” he said, pointing a finger at Cillian, “don’t like anyone. I would say that’s weirder than liking boys or girls.”

“I just haven’t found the right woman yet,” Cillian said haughtily.

“Ha! Keep telling yourself that. You should just accept it; there’s nothing wrong with not fancying anyone.”

“I told you, I haven’t met the right woman yet,” Cillian stated through gritted teeth.

“Whatever,” Pete said dismissively, turning away from him. He pulled a piece of chalk out of his pocket and said to Ewan, “Wanna play hangman?”

“That’s army property!” Cillian yelled.

“I’ll replace it later, Jesus,” Pete said sourly. “Seriously Cillian, if you’re going to be such a fuckin moan then shut up.”

Cillian shut his mouth and pressed his lips together in a thin line, the whiteness around him contrasting vividly with the redness of his face. Pete smirked and turned back to Ewan saying, “Okay I’m going first.”

As Pete and Ewan played, Cillian tried his hardest to ignore them, but once or twice the answer was just so obvious to him that he couldn’t help but yell the answer in exasperation.

“Oh my God, just get over here and play with us,” Pete said, his grin widening when Cillian crawled over and sat beside them, grumbling the entire time.

*

“I’m bored,” Pete groaned.

“Me too,” Ewan said.

“That’s prison for you,” Cillian said matter-of-factly.

“This is a joke, we should have been rescued ages ago! I mean, we must have been in here for hours at this stage.”

“Actually,” Ewan said, checking his watch, “it’s only been half an hour.”

“Ugh,” Pete groaned, flopping back and throwing his arms over his face. “I’m actually going to die here.”

“That is highly unlikely,” Ewan pointed out with a faint grin.

“We could play some more hangman?” Cilliant suggested, picking up the worn-down chalk.

“Uuuuuggggghhhhhhhhh.”

“Would you rather?”

“Uuuuuuuggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh.”

“Truth or dare?”

“UUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH.”

“Fine,” Cillian snapped, throwing the chalk down. “What do you want to do?”

Pete was still for a moment, and then suddenly sprang up with a cry of, “I want to play Mario Kart! You guys up for it?”

“Uh, I hate to burst your bubble, but we’re in prison,” Cillian pointed out.

“Oh pish-posh to prison, my Wii is calling to me.”

Pete crawled over to the door, grabbed it around the edges and pulled it aside. “You guys coming?”

“Definitely,” Ewan said eagerly, following him out the door.

“Guys, we’re supposed to stay in here until someone rescues us!” Cillian whined in protest.

He waited a few moments, and when no answer came and there was no sign of either Pete or Ewan, he sighed and crawled out after them, calling out, “Wait for me!”

He emerged from the bush and squinted as the sunlight hit him in the face. He stood up, looked around, and spotted Pete and Ewan running down the field to where their two armies were still facing off, battling each other savagely with their nerf guns, water guns, and foam weapons. He sprinted after them, and managed to catch up with them by the time they’d reached the battle.

“Hey James, we’re bored of being in prison so we’re going to go to mine and play Mario Kart,” Pete told the brown-skinned boy who was currently directing his forces to try and ambush the incoming soldiers.

“Okay cool,” James said, glancing at them, and doing a double-take when he saw Ewan. “Uh, hey Ewan, sorry we didn’t get around to rescuing you; we’re usually more on it than that.”

“It’s all right,” Ewan replied with a sweet smile.

“We’re uh, we’re going to be playing rounders, you wanna be on my team?” James asked shyly, ‘casually’ fussing with his afro.

Ewan full on beamed at him and replied, “Yeah that sounds brilliant.”

“Okay deadly, see you later.”

“See you,” Ewan said.

He turned and followed Pete up the field, looking back over his shoulder the entire way, while Cillian made faces and Ewan laughed and punched him good-naturedly on the arm with a call of, “I can’t believe it – someone actually managed to grab James Farrell’s attention! You’ve broken the heart of every girl in school!”

Ewan flushed and punched him back, but there was no stopping the giant grin that was working its way across his cheeks.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s short story. If you do please vote and reblog! If you have any questions or comments I’d love to hear from you! And if you know anyone who you think would like my writing project please tag them in the comments and let them know!

Slán!

C.x

[ratfics-blog]

ONE: with assistance from my best friend, @politelydeclined.

no prompt, just straight from the brain. <3

><><><><><><><

Your brother Aidan was the definition of apologetic when he stepped into your room that evening, scratching his neck like he always did when he felt awkward or nervous. You were all ready to go; clad in your trustiest band shirt and flannel, jeans ripped at the knees as always, and combat boots laced up tight. This, seeing you so excited and happy, made him feel a whole lot worse.

“I’m guessing you haven’t seen the news?” He trailed, avoiding eye contact. You pulled a face, and shook you head. “Shit, then. The Killers just released a statement saying that Brandon Flowers has got a nasty throat infection and they’ve had to cancel their gig. Look Y/N I’m honestly so sorry, I really, really am.”

You practically felt your heart shatter. It had been months coming, this gig; a small and ‘intimate’ session in a tiny venue not too far from your house. Blossom had already called not long ago, sounding pretty bad herself. She told how she’d caught a bug in her family, and she wouldn’t make the concert.

But, you assured her there’d be other times. Except for the fact that there’d almost certainly be no other times.

“A band’s just snatched up the opening, though, if you’re interested. They call themselves ‘Catfish and the Bottlemen’. Weird fucking name, but it sounds like they play all like indie bollocks you listen to,” he continued.

You hummed in acknowledgement, suddenly deflated as you sat down on your bed. Sure, it was only one night, but you were both buzzing for it. Couldn’t you just have a break for once?

“How’s someone took the opening so quickly?” You asked. Aidan shrugged. “They must have confirmed it in the morning, and only released it now. I dunno, this Catfish band might have been on the venue’s waiting list or somethin’?”

There was a pause, before Aidan sighed and moved closer, getting you to look up at him.

“Don’t beat yourself up too much, Y/N. Just go to the gig, have a good time, then come home in the middle of the night and tell me about it,” he somehow had you convinced.  With a nod, you checked the time and stood up. Aidan slung his arm around you in a messy hug, and handed you a twenty from his pocket. “Tickets and drinks are on me, yeah?”

Your brother may have been a shithead at times, but he was a hero when you needed him to be.

><><><><><><><

The venue was already getting busy by the time Aidan dropped you off there, but maybe this was because it was so small. Upon entering, you noted that the concentration of bodies mainly consisted of those dressed in Killers shirts, and a lot of these people looked just as upset about the circumstances as you. But after your brother’s pep talk, you were more optimistic about having a good time.

‘Catfish and the Bottlemen’ came out onto the tiny stage shortly after, the lights of the room going down. In your hand you held a plastic cup of cheap cider, having remembered getting served the last time you were here. Saying that though, none of the music clubs in your area asked for ID anyway.

The setup consisted of four men - or maybe even boys. The drummer had glasses and frizzy hair. The bassist was pale and lanky, the guitarist in a leather jacket and seemingly older than the rest.

But the singer caught your eye, for a reason other than the singer is normally the one you watch. He was dressed in all black, his little arms showing due to lack of sleeves on his top, his hair brown and unruly.

Their music was half decent, you thought, contradictory to the ideas of the others who left halfway into the second song. The singer threw himself about so vigorously and on such a small stage, that you thought he was going to injure himself. He constantly thanked the few half hearted claps and cheers and the end of each song, and you almost realised how truly thankful he was to just be there.

He kept catching your eye every now and then, sometimes smiling if he could, other times just too enveloped in the lyrics to react. It was something purely magical to watch.

After an hour of people leaving and the band still being no less deterred to perform like rock stars, the gig ended with a kick ass tune called Tyrants and… Something. Or at least, you thought that was the start of what he said. You couldn’t really make out his words over echoing guitar sounds and his breathless panting.

You waited at the edge of the room for the others to leave first, so you didn’t get caught in the onslaught of bodies all heading for the same small exit. But, even if you’d have wanted to leave immediately, you couldn’t; for the singer had hopped the lousy barricade and come over to you.

“Hey, love,” he breathed, catching you off guard as you turned to face him. “Alright?” You smiled. He nodded, and you gave him a minute to catch his breath before he spoke again. “I’ve been dying to talk to you all night, God… I just think you’re dead gorgeous,” the boy sighed, almost looking you with heart eyes.

“I’m flattered, Mr. Famous Singer,” you joked. He carried on beaming at you. “Not quite famous yet,” he admitted, “but you watch. Me and my lads, we’ll be selling out stadiums in a while. Just gotta graft our way there, yeah?”

You understood, as he told you more about where he saw himself in the future whilst fiddling with the crescent moon that hung from his neck. Though you’d met him minutes ago, he’d really grown on you and you felt as though you were old friends. You wondered if he had the same effect on other people, too.

“You say you liked the music?” Van confirmed, after properly introducing himself. With a swig of the cider which was now loosing its fizz, you nodded. “We’ve got another gig in a few nights, if you’re interested. It’s on a school night, and it’s a bit further away, but-”

“I’ll be there,” you told him. “I’ll help you set up if you like.” “The offer’s kind, love, but it’s a warehouse gig. We’re from Wales, you see. My dad drives us lids around in his transit. We’ll be setting up from in the morning, probably,” Van explained, you rolling your eyes in response.

“Like I said, I’ll be there.”

And you kept your promise, as you always did, taking Van’s number and finding out the time and place. You used your bus pass to travel miles south, skipping school and hopping from bus to bus until you arrived. They sounded even better with their tune ringing around a warehouse, you decided.

This occurrence became regular for you. You’d skip school, travel everywhere by bus, help them set up, and sometimes crash in Wales and let Bernard drive you home in the morning. Your parents had always told you to follow your dreams, and you figured out shortly that this was what you wanted to do. They were apprehensive, but after meeting Bernard and the boys, they agreed to let you carry on.

You didn’t finish education, and moved out aged 16, living in the back of a van with five other sweaty lads. It was makeshift, but this was the proper way to do it. Graft.

So now, when you thought about it, nine years later, it was so absurd to you. By a stroke of luck you went to that silver lining concert, and you never thought you’d be more grateful for a cancelled gig in your life.

This was your life now. And as you twirled the crescent moon between your own fingers as Van had done the day you met, proudly watching your boys throw themselves about on the stage of Wembley Stadium, you knew that things couldn’t get any better than this.

[madeleineandwilliam-ff]

Chapter Five: Part One

“Discuss the various roles of the witches in ‘Macbeth’ with special emphasis on Coleridge’s remark that “the witches have the power of tempting those that have been tempters themselves.”” Louise asked reading from the pile of papers that were in front of her. 

Louise was currently helping Madeleine study for her Literary Analysis class but Madeleine, as of late, couldn’t concentrate on anything related to school. 

“Uh, I don’t know.... tacos?”

Louise gave her friend a small smirk, trying not to laugh. “Tacos? Seriously, Leni. Try to take this serious.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just can’t think today.” Madeleine replied with a sigh. 

Louise neatly placed the papers back into the folder they came from. There was clearly no studying on the agenda for tonight. 

“You still haven’t heard from him, huh?”

Madeleine ran a hand through her curly hair and shook her head. “You know what pisses me off the most? When you pretty much insist on seeing someone for the weekend, you get their hopes up. He got my hopes up, Lussan and I hate him for it.”

It was Saturday night, meaning it was the weekend. And Madeleine planned on seeing William this weekend, but she hadn’t heard from him since they spoke earlier that week. She knew he was back in London too, that was the worst part. Louise made her watch the news coverage of him outside of Clarence House with his brother from last night.

“Well maybe it’s for the best, Len. I mean you came to London to be normal, not date a future king.”

Madeleine exhaled. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too. You know, I blame my parents. If it weren’t for them I would’ve never met stupid Prince William of Wales and I wouldn’t be here ruining our Saturday night.”

Louise raised an eyebrow at her friend. “Your parents didn’t make you have a thing for him.”

Madeleine threw her hands up in the air. “Must you always correct me? I need someone to blame, let me blame them.”

“Fine, as long as you’re not being serious.” Louise paused. “You could always call him, you know. The phone works both ways.”

“And let him think I was looking forward to seeing him? Never.”

“You know, you would’ve had tons of boyfriends by now if you wouldn’t play so hard to get.” Louise said as she rose from her spot at the kitchen table to grab a snack from the cupboard. 

“Yeah, well I’m not easy. And anyways my way is more fun, especially with him.” Madeleine said as she threw her head down on the table and buried her face into their red and white checked tablecloth.

“Want some ice cream or chocolate? I can run to the store.” Louise offered, trying to think of some way to make her best friend feel better.

“You’d have to, we both know I can’t leave this godforsaken flat with those savages camped out outside.” Madeleine responded crestfallen, her head still buried in the tablecloth.

“Well you could, if you called your father and got him to authorize your security. But we both know you’re too busy being dramatic for that to happen anytime soon.” Louise teased as peeled back a banana. 

“Uhg, why did I.....”

Madeleine sat straight up in her chair as she heard the trill of her cellphone ringtone from the next room. She immediately sat up and bolted into the living room, tripping over the couch, nearly face planting on the coffee table as she made a swoop for her phone. 

“That wasn’t pathetic at all!” Louise yelled as she laughed at the show Madeleine just put on for her. 

“Oh shut up, Lussan.” Madeleine snarled at her as she picked up her phone, not looking at the caller ID. “Hello?” 

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair.” A voice, William’s voice said once she answered. 

“William are you fucking drunk right now?” Madeleine asked, desperately trying not to smile as Louise watched her from across the room. 

“No, Princess. I’m here to break you out of your tower, if you’d just tell me which flat and floor you live on.” William replied, while clanging noises of what sounded like metal came from the background.

“Wait you’re here? Like at my flat? Right now?” Madeleine paused to give Louise a look of sheer panic. “I guess, I’ll just buzz you in?”

“Well, that would be great. But, well, you see, I’m on your fire escape. Now what floor?” William asked, acting as if this scenario was completely normal. 

“Uh fifth floor, apartment four.” Madeleine replied as Louise rushed around the apartment tidying up for their surprise guest. 

“Great, be there in a jiff. Go to the window that looks out your fire escape so I make sure that I’ve got the right flat. I’m not sure how my father would be able to cover that story up if I got caught on this fire escape.” William replied, with more clangs of metal sounding off in the background as his long legs trudged up to the fifth floor. 

“Uh ok.” Madeleine said to him as she looked at Louise who was rushing back and forth from room to room, desperately attempting to tidy up their flat. Madeleine made her way into her bedroom and sat on the windowsill that outlooked the fire escape. 

“Can I hang up the phone or do you want me to wait for you to get up here?” Madeleine asked as she walked over and checked her reflection in the mirror before William got there. She was just about to put on lipgloss when she heard a tap at her window. 

“No need, and stop looking in the mirror. You’re gorgeous.” William said as she looked over at him and he waved to her from outside the window.

“Oh um ok.” Madeleine said into the phone as she stared at him, frozen in place for a moment.

“Madeleine?”

“Yeah?” She replied as she continued to stare at him.

“You can hang up your phone and let me in, unless you’d prefer to make me wait all night.” William said, smiling at her.

“Oh right, coming.” Madeleine said as she tossed her phone on her bed and went over and opened the window for William to climb in. 

William climbed into her window effortlessly and smiled down at her. “So, miss me?”

Madeleine just exhaled loudly and hit him in the shoulder. “What the hell!? I have a front door, you know!”

William winced and put his hand over the spot Madeleine just hit. “I take it someone doesn’t like surprises.”

Madeleine scowled at him. “Well no, especially if I don’t get a phone call from . you to confirm plans. How do you know I don’t have other plans for tonight? What did you expect from this little show of yours!?”

William began to chuckle. “You’re cute when you’re agitated. I told you that you’d be seeing me, I thought that was enough. You should know that I always keep my promises.”

“Oh quit complimenting me.” Madeleine replied, rolling her eyes.

“Aw you did miss me and by the way, nice place.” William said as he walked around Madeleine’s room, picking up various objects to examine.

“Why are you here, William?”

“First of all, some appreciation for my entrance would be nice Rapunzel. That took some major creativity on my part. And second of all, do you have memory loss? Because I told you four days ago that you’d be seeing me this weekend.” William said as he began to flip through Madeleine’s Vogue magazine on her dresser. 

“Well I figured I’d have some notice and preparation, excuse me for thinking you weren’t this rude.”

“I gave you a three minute phone conversation to prepare, like I said you look gorgeous. And I sincerely mean that, Princess.” William paused as he shut the Vogue magazine. “Now, are you ready to go? My bike is in the alley. But we have to go back down the fire escape because the press are out front.”

Madeleine threw her hands down to her sides out of frustration. “You’re kidding me, right!?”

William crossed his arms. “Don’t make me carry you down that fire escape.”

Just then Louise appeared in the doorway and smiled at William and Madeleine. She’d clearly been eavesdropping on their conversation. “Madeleine, quit giving him such a hard time and get your ass down that fire escape.”

William turned to Louise and grinned. “You see, I like her. Get your ass down that fire escape, Princess.”

Madeleine scowled at both of them. “I cannot believe you two right now.”

Louise turned to William. “Beleive it or not, she gets easier to deal with. You just have to be patient.”

“Ha! I’ll believe it when I see it.” William replied, grinning with satisfaction as he looked over at the scowl on Madeleine’s face.

“I’m standing right here, you two.” Madeleine paused as her eyes met William’s. “Now, maybe I’d consider going if you tell me where you’re planning on taking me.”

“Sorry it’s a surprise and I can’t wait to see your reaction, because you’re such a fan of surprises.” William teased as Madeleine rolled her eyes.

Madeleine crossed her arms. “No.”

Louise threw her head back and sighed at Madeleine. “Good lord, you are exhausting. Get your ass down that fire escape and live a little, Party Princess.”

William gestured as he grinned at Louise. “Yes, thank you!”

Growing tired of this charade, Madeleine couldn’t help but be interested in William’s plans for them tonight. And she was impressed on his entrance too, although she’d never admit that to him. “Ok, give me five minutes? You can wait in the hall.”

“Fine, I suppose I can give you five minutes.” William said as he and Louise headed out into the hallway and closed the door behind them, leaving Madeleine alone in her bedroom.

Fifteen minutes later, Madeleine and William were readying themselves to climb back down the fire escape. 

Madeleine had changed her outfit from her jeans and white sweater into a blue, floral print dress and her jean jacket. She’d pulled her blonde curls back into a braid and decided to put on that lip gloss that William told her not to put on. 

“You’re not afraid of heights, right?” William asked as he was opening the window for them to climb out.

Madeleine shook her head. “You wish, Prince Charming.”

William rolled his eyes. “For being a princess, you have zero manners.”

William began to climb out the window and reached out and leant Madeleine a hand to help her out. She looked at his outstretched hand hesitantly, and after a moment took it.

“Ok Princess, let’s do this quickly and quietly. Last thing we both need is to fuel the rumors in the press.”

“Agreed.” Madeleine said, still holding William’s hand in her’s.

William began to smirk. “Hey Princess, as much as I enjoy this skin to skin contact, I need both hands to climb down safely.”

“Oh right, of course.” Madeleine said, immediately dropping his hand from her grasp.

Minutes later they found themselves at the end of the fire escape. William with his long legs and athletic build was easily able to jump from the fire escape to the alleyway. Madeleine, however, was having some difficulty trying to safely make it off the fire escape in her dress. 

“Want some help?” William asked after watching her examine her situation for a moment.

“No, now quit being so....”

And before Madeleine could say another word, William had her lifted into his arms and was carrying her over his shoulder to his Ducati parked near the end of the alley.

“I didn’t need your help! I have legs, you know!”

William began to chuckle. “Quit your whining.”

“William, I swear to god if you don’t put me down this instant I’ll....” Madeleine began and he once again didn’t let her finish.

Before she knew it she was being shifted in her arms and being lifted down to the ground. William set her carefully down to the ground, she was inches away from him as she looked up into his eyes.

“I’m not the only one who doesn’t have manners.” Madeleine huffed as her blue orbs stared into his.

“Oh I know, that’s what makes us perfect for each other. Remember, Peaches?”

Madeleine huffed and turned on her heel. She walked over and grabbed the spare helmet from the back of William’s bike and put it on. She then climbed on the back of the bike and watched as he stood there with his eyebrow raised, grinning at her.

“Are you coming or do I need to drive?”

William came over and adjusted Madeleine’s chin strap on her helmet. His hand lingered on her cheek as he grinned at her. “You’re something else, you know that?”

Madeleine couldn’t help but notice her heart skipped a beat whenever he touched her, and how it drove her crazy at the same time. “Oh William, sweet sweet William. You have twenty seconds to get your ass on this bike before I...”

William shook his head and put his own helmet on and then climbed on. “Quit giving me ultimatums and hold on.”

“Don’t drive like a...”

Once again before letting Madeleine finish, William started the bike and flew down the alley and into the busy London traffic. 

A/N: I so hope you guys enjoyed Part 1 of Chapter 5! I can’t wait for you to see where William is taking Madeleine! Any guesses? As always, I can’t wait to read your feedback on this chapter. I hope to have the next chapter out soon. :) Thanks for reading!

[paintedimagining]

Tagged by the utter darling that is @hacash thank you sweetie!

Five things you’ll find in my bag:

·       So boring but my purse

·       And my keys

·       And my phone which doesn’t actually work properly

·       Pain meds, energy tablets and plasters just in case

·       A little sketchbook and pencils because you never know and a small notebook and pen because again you never know

Five things you’ll find my bedroom:

·            Books.  So many books.  So many books that I don’t have space on the shelves for them so they are pilled hereabouts

·            Big bundle of clothes in the washing basket which aren’t actually dirty but stuff I’m either going to wear or have tried on

·            Usually one of the dogs lol

·            A big box of lotions and potions I get from Boots to test and review

·       A mountain of sketchbooks and art supplies

Five things I want to do with my life:

·       Travel all the over the world. I’ve got huge wanderlust and sadly not the bank balance yet to make that possible tut

·       Get my own place because that would just be perfect

·       Get healthy enough to be able to learn to drive again and pass my test

·       Get married to some cuddly dork and have a couple of children

· Have another solo exhibition

Five Things I’m into right now:

·            Outlander  oooooomg I’ve been re-bingewatching it of an evening and I’ve just become totally hooked, moreso that I was the first time I watched it. I want my own Jamie! *grabby hands*

·            Il Giovane Montalbano (The Young Montalbano). It’s an Italian prequel detective series about the early life of Salvo Montalbano, which I started watching last year, so I’m now on S2. It’s hilarious as much as it is serious with epic bromances that are certainly epic and it’s so quirky with random slapstick humor but also clever and gritty.  It’s also really fascinating (to me anyway) to hear the differences in the Sicilian dialect to the generic Italian (because it’s in Italian and mercifully not over-dubbed but subtitled)

·            Making my own paints from scratch. I’ve only have limited success with the tempera paint so I’m not sure about upgrading to trying my hand at making oil paint just yet

·            Studying old master artists

·            Herbology

Five things on my to-do list:

·            Pass driving test and get a car

·            Get my ears pierced (though I’ve been saying that for the past 10 years lol)

·            Go travelling

·            Get a place of my own

·       Plan where I’m taking the amazing @hacash on her visit oop norf around Liverpool at the end of this month ahhhhh SO EXCITED! 

Five things people may not know about me:

·            I won a first aid award when I was a teen for ‘saving’ my brother’s life after he began chocking after an epileptic seizure. It was in all the local papers and on the radio and I won a life-saver award and subsequently took part in the ‘Save a Life Campaign’ representing youth, which was to raise awareness of the important of learning basic first aid. I got to go to London and there was a huge ceremony and photoshoot with famous faces at the time. I subsequently became a first aider with St John’s Ambulance, and randomly on the course achieved SFX makeup certificate for all manner of gruesome makeup so if you want gory effects for Halloween, I’m the one to go to teehee I also took part in this massive first aider jamboree in Germany and helped build a refugee shelter there.

·            I once for a few years went to a drama workshop and took part in a stage productions of ‘Grease’ and ‘Our Day Out’.I am a soprano/ mezzzo soprano singer but haven’t sung in a choir for so long- I lost my confidence.

·            I’ve exhibited art in three local(ish) art galleries and had my own solo exhibition down in Hereford when I was fresh out of Uni

·            I wanted to be a ballet dancer when I was younger and went to ballet and tap lessons, but of course my joints scuppered that. And then I wanted to be an army nurse, but again poor health scuppered that, though I still have a interest in nursing and first aid

·       I achieved my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award even after tearing my achilles tendon while on my Gold Trial Exhibition in Snowdonia, North Wales- which of course I hid from our leaders because I knew one was paramedic who would have sent me home lol and because I’m stubborn and tough northerner who wasn’t going to let extreme pain or risk of permanent injury stop me from achieving the final DofE award- that’s just not the northern way of doing things dammit. Which I did! And against dr’s advice lol and was made all the more emotional by the fact I had struggled on the last Test Exhibition with my leg doubly strapped up, in chronic pain, but my team mates were just incredible and shared my rucksack load to take the weight off my injury, as well as in the last few kms helping me to walk. I had a MASSIVE bruise and swelling all the way up my leg afterwards and couldn’t weight-bear on it for over a month (which was tricky as I use to walk 1 ½ to sixthform everyday back then) but it was well worth it. I swear doing DofE still remains one of the greatest experiences of my life. In sixthform and went on to become a young leader to train the next lot of DofE hopefuls, teaching them how not to die in the wilds of Wales. So if you need anyone to help you navigate the mountains of Wales or help you survive, I’m your gal lol I’m very outdoorsy (or was/am joints allowing) I love hiking, canoeing, kayaking, gorge walking, abseiling, caving etc you name it

Tagging @neon-green-bra @mototwinkclub @iamsundayschild @cowboyaddie @silvertyger @iamanathemadevice and anyone else that wants to do it 

[daysoutwithbex]

12 months of 2017

12 live shows seen 11 months of living in my little flat 10 kg of Nutella eaten 9 new albums bought 8 months of being in a fabulous choir 7 books read 6 holidays 5 kg of chocolates brought back from Zurich 4 afternoon teas 3 new countries visited 2 outdoor cinema trips 1 hell of a year.

It’s my annual round up of the year. Why? Because it seems I like to dwell on the past a lot; but I’m slowly learning that that is not always a bad thing, it’s how you look at and learn from the past that’s important. However, this year has been remarkably better than 2016, despite my brain telling me on most days that it’s a terrible day, week or month. Looking back, it hasn’t been half bad. I have rocks for friends.

As with every January, I celebrated my birthday with friends and lots of food. There was snow on my birthday - and everyone knows how I feel about snow. I’m quite vocal about it! However, trying to drive back from a meal in Mold was not as fun as one would anticipate in snow. But we had had a lovely meal and an amazing waffle, so not much could go wrong after that.

February was a month of celebrations too. A trip to Iceland where we saw the Northern Lights, albeit very briefly, LOTS of snow, a day in the Blue Lagoon, round trip to Gullfoss waterfall and a flat completion date set. My first concert of 2017 was in Iceland too, in the beautiful Harpa music hall. First of far too many (some might say!). All in the first four days of the month. Surely a good omen. My search for the best waffle, or at least one that beats Leeds markets ones, came to an end with a little van outside the  Hallgrímskirkja church. The bar has risen! The last day of the holiday was World Nutella Day, so it was only appropriate to have a Nutella hot chocolate and take pictures of Nutella with some Nutella!

I’ve always had a ‘thing’ about the 10th of the month, as quite a bit seems to have happened on the 10th of a few months over the last few years. 2017 was no exception, when after six months of waiting, I FINALLY got the keys for my new flat that I could call my own. No more sleepovers and begging for a sofa/bed! And the dog could live there too, where she well and truly rules the roost! I got to decorate (my decorating goes as far as pinning pictures up on the wall) exactly how I wanted to and don’t have to worry about blu tack marks or having to fill in holes from nails or screws (which I always do very professionally, I might add)! Also, I finally had space for a music room which was essential.

We won’t get in to the Six Nations!

My first theatre show of the year was Grease in March. It was also an excuse for a catch up, more food and the most amazing cakes and cheesecake I have ever eaten. I started making marmalade, purely because I could, and had jars of the stuff for months. Luckily that fad didn’t last long and space in my fridge was once more. I started looking after plants and they are still alive; bar one. They are cacti and require minimal attention, but they are hanging on in there and growing well!

I started reading the most inspiring of the books I read this year; “Mad Girl” by Bryony Gordon. It’s an insightful and honest account of living with mental illness. It’s reassuring, honest and witty and makes anyone realise that there is no such thing as normal. It’s far too easy to compare life to everyone else’s and think that you are not “normal”. I’m not normal anyway, and by everyone else’s (I shouldn’t tar everyone with the same brush - a lot of people’s) standards, I would get sod all done if I was!

In April, I bought Nutella a fluorescent raincoat, and she was not a happy bunny! I think she instinctively knew that she looked a bit silly, but there was no way the flat was smelling of wet dog, so silly she may look! Brad Paisley released his best album to date and I have a prized autographed edition to add to my collection. Another theatre show in Manchester at the Palace Theatre to watch Wonderland. An obligatory afternoon tea date in the Townhouse Hotel too made a lovely day.

My favourite new creation was a volcano pizza, which I encouraged and made Dad make beginning of May. I also took advantage of my youthful appearance when the election came around and canvassers needed to speak to the homeowner. Seeing as “my parents are at work” and they assumed I was “at school”, I couldn’t help them, so I had a lovely quiet evening! After a lot of planning, I finally got to show up as a belated birthday present for Emerlee in Gran Canaria (whether she liked it or not; sorry!), but I think Adam and I did well to keep it quite for so long. I also got a little bit of sun and a lot of sunburn including a permanent hand print shaped burn on my leg to prove that I had been there - still visible! To finish off the month, another theatre show; Sister Act, but this time, in Llandudno.

June was the eventful Ikea-trip day, when I bought ready assembled shelves because they were so much cheaper, but didn’t factor in that my flat is significantly smaller than a bloomin’ showroom! Luckily, with four heads thinking, there is always a solution and they live happily ever after in the music room and will never ever leave! I bought the dog some stylish Converse - again, she hates them, but I have some beautiful pictures! I also had a meltdown and a right rant at the Guardian, which was entertaining to say the least. Nothing resolved, but I won’t regret not speaking up, at least?!

As with most months gone by, July brought a new show; Annie in Piccadilly Theatre, London with Miranda Hart starring. Literally nothing that could go wrong there! Also managed to squeeze a couple of visits to Criccieth, and shamefully haven’t been back since. I got to celebrate a special birthday and celebrated World Chocolate Day - of course. I also met Prince Charles at work. As you do.

Then August was here, and it was great! It started with Friends Fest. What’s not to love there? And the following day I set of to Zurich, where I had the most amazing holiday and also got to have a quick trip over to Vaduz, Liechtenstein. Ate far too much cheese and chocolate and came home with no less than 5kg of chocolates.

There was a couple of visits to the outdoor cinema, first to see Moana with my “adoptive family”! - I have never ever laughed so much in a film that isn’t a comedy, but everyone was wearing earmuffs, so it was fine! Then we went to see Fantastic Beasts and I made the major error of taking the dog. A nuisance to say the least. She tried to pull to eat people’s pizzas, wouldn’t stop whining and ate the people next to us’s packet of turkey slices. One woman looked Nutella in the eye and ‘shushed’, which didn’t make a blind bit of difference BECAUSE SHE’S A DOG. She’s staying home next year. The dog, not the woman.

I took another trip to Manchester to see Maddie & Tae in the Ritz, and they were fantastic. Though the countdown to their next album is killing me! I finished off the month in Hickory’s and a stomach full.

Mam and Dad went on holiday in September so I had two dogs under my supervision, and I got to go ten pin bowling with John. We celebrated his 22nd birthday and had a lot of food, again! We managed to escape the escape rooms in Chester with barely seconds to spare (I’m sure TMO would say we did not succeed!) I also went to a jungle birthday party, ate a lot of cake and had a lot of fun. We even had a karaoke session in the car, though I think the whole of North Wales would have heard the speakers and Little Mix booming - I was not in charge of the music, I hasten to add!

The boring part of the month was buying a new fridge freezer and in October it was delivered. Being an adult is great. Back to what I live for - I saw Little Big Town in Bristol on the 3rd and Lady Antebellum, with Kelsea Ballerini opening in Manchester on the 4th of October. I caught a guitar pick at LBT which is now sitting pretty with my Lady Antebllum and Band Perry picks, and I managed to high five Charles Kelley of Lady A when he was walking through the crowds. October was off to a fantastic start.

The next trip, a couple of weeks later was with choir down to London. I obviously took advantage of the situation and made a weekend of it. I saw Les Mis, Wicked and Lion King in succession. Also this month, one of my neighbours tried to give a fish away.

My final concert of the year was in November when I went back down to Bristol to see Maren Morris. A quick look in the Bristol markets to get some churros was mandatory too. The next concert we go to and don’t get to the front to lean on the security bar will be a massive disappointment, as I genuinely cannot remember the last concert I was not with perfect view with not a head in front of me! I finished off the month the same way I started December - with choir. Two very different, but very fun gatherings. Both involving food, so that is always a winner for me.

There was a lot of snow for a short period of time, but I am proud to say that Nutella is just as excited as me about it, although I did not care for her whining and longing stares out the window at the flurrying outside. We had a fabulous time at Robert’s 50th surprise, which was pulled off spectacularly. But we won’t speak of what happened after!

Pentatonix did another Christmas special, and it is the only thing that makes me feel Christmassy ever! Which leads on nicely to my spur of the moment holiday arrangement. I am far too excited to be going to see Kirstie Maldonado, of Pentatonix, on Broadway in March. I will cry.

I managed to nail next year’s Christmas card picture, so you can all wait with baited breath for next year’s masterpiece!

The final few weeks of the year, I caught up with my favourite family, ate a lot, laughed a lot and will be watching closing out the year watching The Greatest Showman tomorrow.

Looking back, especially at the good times, is always nice. As part of a management programme, a recommendation I’ve been given is to take a photo a day of anything that makes me smile, so I’m going to try and see how it goes and if it makes a difference. Keeping a diary didn’t last very long this year, but a heck of a lot of pictures has built this essay and a half!

Now I’m off to plan my Copenhagen and New York trips as they’ll soon be here.

If you’ve read this far, bravo! And a forewarning, a photo a day in 2018 means you’re all in trouble!

Life in lyrics: “It doesn't matter if your days are long, It doesn't matter if your night's gone wrong, Just grab your hands and stomp your feet and sing it” (Sing, Pentatonix)